HIDs Installed?

[Xenon]

I probably will... my $$$ is really restrictive this summer... and probably for a few months after that...

[01AWW18T]

First post,

I installed a set of mcculloch h7, 5300k hids in my 3.

Got a set off ebay from \"hidseller\". Shipped to me in less than 2 business days from Hong Kong. (Paid roughly 280 USD)

Then I made my own wiring harness. Decided to by-pass the stock wiring with the DRL and just hooked it up to an auxilary switch.

Got all the wiring harness materials from canadian tire (relays, wiring, fuses, switch etc) which costs about 50-60 bucks in all.

Pretty happy with the results

[Xenon]

see, the problem for me is I\'d have no clue how to install HIDs.

[01AWW18T]

Originally posted by Xenon


see, the problem for me is I\'d have no clue how to install HIDs.

do u know how to solder stuff together?.
Its pretty simple. If you don\'t want to modify the factory wiring or figure out how to disable the DRLs, its not that bad of an install using your own harness.

Here\'s my wiring diagram for the harness:


The wires that are connected back to the battery\'s negative terminal can be hooked up to ground instead.

I actually found a ground bolt that\'s screwed to the body of the car near the left headlight and one near the right headlight, so I naturally chose those points.
As for the ground for the switch, there\'s a grounding bolt that\'s next to the hood release handle in the driver side foot-well area, I had to remove the plastic panel on the side to find it though.

I ran the wire for the switch through the firewall using the hole that the hood release cable passes through (PITA to get through).

For more info on your hid options, here are some helpful sites:
http://www.hidforum.com
http://www3.sympatico.ca/deepak/cars/hidfaq.htm
http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/headlamp-faq.htm

HTH

[Xenon]

Thanks, but I think it will be at least a year before I get HIDs for my car.

[Nex]

The USDM Mazda 3\'s come with HID\'s stock right? I wonder how hard it\'ll be to retrofit these into the Canadian 3\'s.?

[Xenon]

My brother, who lives in Florida, is looking into it. Should be cheaper tahn buying aftermarket since in the states there is a lot less demand for them since they are an option. I\'ll keep you people posted.

[M Cube]

I heard that a set of H7 HID in Hong Kong is going for around $450 CDN (6000K)
Is it a good deal or not.....?? Cuz I am back there in June and soooooooo interested in picking up a set or two..........

So which one do you guys recommand......??
4300K or more K\'s. Cuz I heard the more K\'s they are the more bluish/purplish they are......

[Xenon]

Might as wekk go for the 6000... If you\'re going to get HIDs get the better ones.

[bluntman]

I saw Wejidas\' review of the HID kit that he bought from XenonDepot. I looks nice, but it\'s also too much work and somewhat expensive for my tastes...I don\'t know, I\'m on the fence. He mentioned something about the DRL circuit as well. From what I gather, because our cars have DRLs the lights are on all of the time while in motion.

Hmmm...

[M Cube]

I still have to check if it\'s easy to relocate or remove the DRL.
All I needed to do for my old Civic is to remove the DRL fuse from the fuse box and it\'s done........hopefully the 3 is that easy too.........
And the reason I want the 4300K is because it\'s more OEM looking and I dont want to have problems with the police.......

[01AWW18T]

I got my set of McCullochs on ebay for 256 US + 26.50 US shipping from seller \'hidseller\'

Came next day fedex from Hong Kong. They\'re the 5300K ones. Install wasn\'t that bad, made my own harness and hooked it directly to battery with relay and ran a trigger wire to an auxilary switch inside the car (fits in the blanks next to the dimmer switch nicely). So totally by-passed the DRL and low beam system

All the parts I used to make the harness I got from Canadian Tire:p

[Xenon]

the \"K\" number of HIDs designate how bright they are right? (Light output). Is there a real difference between the different K\'s and what is the legal limit for it?

[bluntman]

Originally posted by Xenon


the \"K\" number of HIDs designate how bright they are right? (Light output). Is there a real difference between the different K\'s and what is the legal limit for it?

The \"K\" is for Kelvin, as in light temperature. There\'s nothing in the HTA that dictates the temperature of light being emitted from the headlights, only that they have to be white in colour.

[Xenon]

so with that, Higher the K, higher the temperature, brighter the light.... I guess the hotter you go, the less reliable the lights get. (?)

[bluntman]

Originally posted by Xenon


so with that, Higher the K, higher the temperature, brighter the light.... I guess the hotter you go, the less reliable the lights get. (?)

No, it\'s just colour temperature, not the actual amount of heat being emitted from the bulb.

[Xenon]

ahhhh I see.

[DUBS2X10]

$700 for lights...lol now way i would play that much, yeah the blue looks cool but damn !

[wtom]

That\'s the norm for REAL HID kits.

[wtom]

Originally posted by 01AWW18T

I installed a set of mcculloch h7, 5300k hids in my 3.

Got a set off ebay from \"hidseller\". Shipped to me in less than 2 business days from Hong Kong. (Paid roughly 280 USD)

Then I made my own wiring harness. Decided to by-pass the stock wiring with the DRL and just hooked it up to an auxilary switch.

Got all the wiring harness materials from canadian tire (relays, wiring, fuses, switch etc) which costs about 50-60 bucks in all.

Pretty happy with the results

Hope you\'re still around... I just saw the following auction by \"hidseller\"

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7925451404&cat egory=36476

So the seller only sells the bulbs and the ballasts? the wiring and switches and connectors have to be home-made (or get a pro to do it)?

How about the SpeedStar special going on?

http://www.speedstar.ca/main_hid_speciall_main.htm

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by wtom

How about the SpeedStar special going on?

http://www.speedstar.ca/main_hid_speciall_main.htm

if speedstar can give a good deal on installation, i *might* consider getting HIDs in the coming months.

what i\'d like to know though is how they handle the DRLs...would be interesting to know.

[RedRaptor]

If Speedstar has a solution to the DRL issue and can give a small discount on XenonDepot\'s HID kits, I would get HIDs for sure.

[Xenon]

Originally posted by RedRaptor


If Speedstar has a solution to the DRL issue and can give a small discount on XenonDepot\'s HID kits, I would get HIDs for sure.

Discount: probably not

But I think they would be able to deal with the DRLs

[billyfo]

but if they have a small % on installation, it will be better for us.:p

also if at least 5 or 6 ppl go to have the HIDs, I think they are willing to give up some profit.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by MajesticBlueN

if speedstar can give a good deal on installation, i *might* consider getting HIDs in the coming months.

what i\'d like to know though is how they handle the DRLs...would be interesting to know.

after reading through mazda3forums.com a little while after i posted this, i think i\'m gonna wait on the HIDs until next year or something.

XenonDepot is no longer a sponsor at M3F and Steve/XenonDepot has not responded on how to handle the DRL issue - according to M3-GT (my take...you\'d think they\'d know since they were a sponsor and probably could\'ve had access to the service manual\'s schematics)...

also, the bulb base on most HID kits don\'t fit properly and have to be \"shimmed\" with 2 rubber washers so that the bulbs won\'t either move up and down on a bump or fall out (retaining clip doesn\'t hold them too well).

M3-GT suggested Xenon Factory ...they\'re another local outfit and, after looking at their pic Gallery, they have a few mazda6 customers.

me thinks i\'ll wait a while...the 3\'s projectors aren\'t that bad at night.